The New England Patriots continued to take care of business in Week 4, beating the Atlanta Falcons 30-23 on Sunday Night Football.
Patriots vs. Falcons 2013 final score: New England holds off Atlanta 30-23
It wasn’t pretty, but the Patriots held on and improved to 4-0.
The Falcons mounted a furious comeback late in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough. Matt Ryan caught fire late in the game, throwing a touchdown Tony Gonzalez, who found the end zone twice in the game. In all, Gonzalez had 12 catches for 149.
The Patriots, meanwhile, are quietly undefeated. Despite a long list of injuries, including one to Vince Wilfork in Sunday night's game, New England has managed to fight through and grind out wins.
Atlanta was one of the top teams in the NFC a year ago, and New England was able to go on the road and take the Falcons down.
Needless to say, Robert Kraft has every reason to get excited about his Patriots:
This fumble late in the game gave the Falcons a chance and probably got Kraft a bit worried. But as usual, Tom Brady and company held on to win:
Fantasy studs and duds
Gonzalez was the fantasy stud of the night. His 149-yard, two-touchdown performance was the best of the night. Meanwhile, Patriots wide receiver Kenbrell Thompkins had more than 120 yards receiving and a touchdown. Both quarterbacks also had great performances. Tom Brady threw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns, while Matt Ryan went over 400 yards and had a pair of scores.
Injury report
Julio Jones battled an injury throughout the night, but the biggest injury news came on the Patriots sideline. Vince Wilfork had to leave the game after this play:
Did they cover?
The Patriots were favored by two points, according to Odds Shark and covered the spread.
What’s next?
Bengals at Patriots, Oct. 6, 1:00 p.m. EY
Jets at Falcons, Oct. 7, 8:40 p.m. ET
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